Gloucester in good fiscal shape, Champion reports

Gloucester County is in the black, by nearly $1.8 million, according to a preliminary budget report from fiscal year 2013, which ended June 30.

Gloucester’s director of financial services Nickie Champion presented the good news to the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors during the board’s Oct. 1 meeting in the colonial courthouse.

"We came in over budget at $1 million with our property tax collections," Champion said. "The majority of this can be attributed to larger than expected values for public service property and higher than expected collection percentages for personal property."

Champion also reported that actual revenues for the county’s general fund exceed its budget forecast. "It has been a number of years—and hopefully it will be the start of a positive trend," she said.

General fund expenditures also came in under budget, thanks to department heads spending money only on what is necessary and that it is spent wisely. The county came in about $1.5 million under budget with its general fund expenditures and no expenditures exceeded appropriations in any function as of June 30.